Author’s Note: This is a follow-up to
my second fic, Gotcha!.
Reading Gotcha! isn’t
necessary to understand this story, but it couldn’t hurt. You want to read all
my stories, don’t you? (please?) Many thanks go to Hannah, Jareth, and Nova for
giving me the idea to write this in the first place, and also to Threnody,
Timesprite, Hannah, Rachel, Jareth, Julia, Sparcck, and Hanako (yes, Hanako)
for all their help and/or encouragement. Rated PG-13 for innuendo and a little
naughty language. Enjoy!

“Well,
Dot?” Mouse asked. “Truth or Dare?”

“Oh,
no,” Dot returned. “We are not playing that.”

“Oh,
come on, Dot,” AndrAIa pleaded. “It’ll be fun.”

“No.
Truth or Dare gets out of hand too easily.”

“Dot,
Mouse has already been attacked by a television set. How much more out of hand
can things get?” Bob asked.

Mouse
grinned impishly. “Ah say we find out.”

The
rest of the room was in agreement, but Dot held her ground. “I think we’ve all
been embarrassed enough tonight. Besides, we should go; it’s time Enzo was in
bed.”

“But
Dot!” Enzo was quick to protest. “I’m not...” his words were cut off by a
monstrous yawn. “... tired,” he finished.

“Boxers
or briefs?” Matrix repeated. He thought for a minute, then pulled out the
waistband of his pants a little to check. “Nope.”

Little
Enzo was the first to speak following this revelation. “I think I’ll go to bed
now,” he said, quickly standing up.

Dot
smiled. “Good night, little brother.” The others called out their goodnights,
grateful for the distraction.

After
Enzo was safely out of the room, attention turned back to his counterpart.
“Matrix, that was a little too much,” Bob said.

“That
was a lot too much,” Ray added.

Matrix
refused to be embarrassed. “Just answering the question.”

Dot
smacked his arm, then asked, “Ok, who’s next?”

“I’ll
go,” said Ray. “Hex -- Truth or Dare?”

All
eyes turned to the former virus as she mulled over the question; “Dare,” she
finally answered with a grin.

Ray
smirked back at her. “I dare you to . . .”

***

Matrix
shook his head. “I hope you’re proud of yourself.”

Ray
looked extremely guilty. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“You
didn’t think she’d get caught?”

“I
didn’t think she’d actually do it!”

“You
dared a Chaos Virus to streak and you didn’t think she’d actually do it?!”

“Well,
she’s not as chaotic anymore...“ Ray began, reaching for an excuse. He lowered
his eyes and sighed. “I‘ll never figure that lady out.”

AndrAIa
giggled. “I bet Phong will be sorry he missed this.” Phong had opted not to
come to the party, saying he’d had enough excitement to last him for minutes.
Bob’s apartment was now missing Hexadecimal, Dot, Hack, and Slash as well.

“Only
two turns into the game and we manage to get Hexadecimal arrested.” Mouse put
her arm around Ray’s waist. “Ah’m proud of you, honey.”

“You
don’t think Dot’s mad at me, do you?”

“If
I were you, I’d be more worried about Hex being mad at you,” Bob replied. Just
then, there was a knock on the front door. “It’s open,” Bob called out. Dot
entered the apartment -- alone.

“Nothing
like bailing a friend out of jail to make your night complete,” she said,
getting comfortable on the couch.

“I’m
really sorry about all this, Dot,” Ray began. “I’ll pay you back the bail
money.”

Dot
shook her head. “No need. I just let her off the hook.” She smiled. “That’s one
of the advantages of being in charge. I did agree to let the troops put her
under house arrest until tomorrow, though. She still makes them nervous.”

“Is
she mad at me?” Ray asked -- sounding awfully nervous himself.

“No
way. She got a kick out of the whole experience. I had Hack and Slash take her
back to Lost Angles, and I am to give her a detailed report of the rest of the
game tomorrow,” Dot finished with a grin. <P.“OK, how I’m going to top that,” said AndrAIa, giving Ray a
poke in the ribs. “Dot -- Truth or Dare?”

Dot
was feeling adventurous after this latest escapade -- besides, she figured
AndrAIa couldn’t give her anything as humiliating as Ray’s last challenge.
“Dare.”

AndrAIa,
obviously caught off guard, had to think for a moment. “Oh, wait -- I got one,”
said Matrix, then leaned over and whispered in her ear.

AndrAIa
gave him a confused look. “Huh?”

“I
told you about that, remember?”

“Oh,
yeah! That’s right,” the girl said, suddenly recalling. “Dot, I dare you to
sing that song from Enzo’s birthday party for us.”

Dot’s
reaction was instant: “No!”

“What
song?” Mouse asked.

“Dot
put together a show for me back when I turned 1-0,” Matrix explained. “Complete
with this -- cabaret number. Remember, Bob?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Bob
gave him a warning look, which wasn’t lost on Mouse. “Well, don’t leave us
hanging, sugah -- sing it already!”

Dot
shook her head forcefully. “Uh-uh.”

“Dot,
you have to,” AndrAIa reminded her.

“I’ll
take Truth, then. I’m not singing.”

The
Game Sprite rolled her eyes. “Fine, be that way.” She chewed a fingernail
thoughtfully for a moment (luckily she was immune to her own poison); then she
asked, “What do you have on under that thing?”

“Under
it?” Dot repeated in surprise.

“What
is this fixation with underwear tonight?” Ray wondered aloud, looking from
Mouse to AndrAIa.

“I’m
curious. I mean, what kind of underwear do you use with skintight leather?”

“Um...
I don’t,”Dot said quietly, eyes on the floor.

The
room was absolutely silent; silent, that is, until Mouse started laughing. That
set off Ray and AndrAIa, while Bob and Matrix just sat staring at Dot,
dumbfounded.

Ray
was ready with a quip of his own. “Yeah, Dre, I don’t know if anyone explained
this to you, but the point of underwear is to go under something.”

“You
didn’t seem to mind it too much when we met,” she shot back.

He
considered this. “Touché,” he replied, prompting a glare from Matrix.

Bob
was still staring at Dot. “You’re not wearing -- any underwear?”

Dot
was clearly very embarassed. “No,” she said meekly.

“And
you never have?”

“Not
under this.”

Bob
shook his head in amazement. “That’s just so... unlike you.”

At
this comment, Dot finally met his eyes. “Oh, don’t pretend you don’t love it,” she
said with a half-smile. Her remark got applause from the other women -- and
more embarassed silence from Bob.

“Can
we move on please?” he entreated at last.

Mouse
jumped at the opportunity. “Mike -- Truth or Dare?” she asked with a hint of
malice.

The
TV had been cowering in a corner for much of the night; normally he was used to
being threatened with the garbage disposal, but when the threat came from
Mouse, he knew to take it seriously. He started at being spoken to; he wasn’t
aware he had been playing. “T-truth,” he answered carefully.

“Damn,”
Mouse said under her breath. She’d been looking forward to making him humiliate
himself; now she had to come up with a question.

“Hang
on, Mouse; I got another one,” Matrix offered. As he whispered his idea, a
devious grin spread over Mouse’s face. She turned back to Mike, who looked
awfully pale.

“Mike,”
she began sweetly. “Ah have it on good authority that you shot some footage of
Enzo’s birthday.” Her voice took on a commanding tone. “Where’s the tape?”

Mike
sprang up, grateful that the heat was off him. “I’ll be back in a jiffy!” he
cried, dashing from the room.

Mouse
snatched the tape from him and turned on the VCR. Since Mike’s insatiable need
to annoy the entire populous of Mainframe kept him out of the apartment during
all the good shows, Bob had long ago bought another TV -- an inanimate one. It
was this TV that Mouse was now fiddling with.

“What
the...?” she muttered as the VCR refused to accept the tape. She pressed EJECT,
and another video dutifully popped out. Mouse gave it a glance. “Hmm... note
for later: somebody ask Bob why he’s got a Springer tape in here.” While Bob
stammered an excuse, Mouse stuck in the new tape and hit PLAY. She and AndrAIa
knelt on the floor in front of the TV, while Dot cringed on the sofa, already
embarrassed. Bob put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

After
a few moments of static and bad tracking, the TV displayed a decorated stage.
For a few nanoseconds nothing happened; then Enzo, wearing his old 01 jersey
and looking a little confused, entered through a backstage door.

“Awww
-- look how cute you were,” AndrAIa teased.

The
group watched Enzo compile up with the mild interest that is given to all home
movies; but this interest increased considerably when the lights dimmed and Dot
appeared onstage in a red dress that just barely made it past the BSnP’s.

“Mm-hm. Still fits, too,”
Dot replied, managing to muster up a little pride.

“Oh,
yeah?” Bob said with interest. As if cued by his question, the tape panned over
to show Bob and Enzo staring at Dot, mouths hanging open. This image drew
snickers from the audience.

“Something
catch your eye there, Bob?” Mouse gave him a smirk.

“Shut
up, you guys,” Bob answered weakly.

“Oh,
now they’re both turning red,” AndrAIa said, looking back at the couple on the
couch.

“Shh
-- I want to hear this,” Ray said.

The
reactions to the first verse were easy enough for Dot to take. There were a few
giggles, and Mouse and AndrAIa put on an exaggerated display of swaying, but
for the most part they genuinely enjoyed her singing.

Then
the second verse started.

No
laughing. No smart-ASCII comments. Just shocked silence. Dot buried her head in
her arms, trying in vain not to picture what she knew was happening onscreen.
She felt Bob shift uncomfortably; then he laughed under his breath and rubbed
her back. "It's almost over," he whispered. Dot glanced up just in
time to see her videotaped self move even closer to Bob. Their lips almost
touched; then Dot put her hand on his face and pushed him away.

That
did it. Mouse burst out laughing, as did Ray. AndrAIa stared at the screen in
shock for a few more nanoseconds before succumbing herself. Matrix chuckled and
shook his head, remembering how much he had teased Bob in the days that had
followed.

The
third verse of the song was drowned out by laughter. Mouse and AndrAIa belted
out the final "You're ALPHANUMERIC!!" along with the tape, and there
was some brief applause as Mouse moved to the VCR to stop the video.

"That
was fantastic," Ray said.

"Oh,
man; my stomach hurts," said Mouse, still trying to get her laughter under
control.

AndrAIa,
giggling, turned to face Bob and Dot, both of whom had turned interesting
shades of red. "Um...I have a question."

Dot
sighed; she had a pretty good idea what the question was. "What is it,
AndrAIa?" she asked wearily.

AndrAIa
gestured to the TV, then back to Bob and Dot. "What in the Net took so
long?"

"I
was just playing around there. I didn't think of him...that way yet."

Matrix
gave a scornful laugh. "Then how about telling us what the password to
your organizer was?" Dot responded by winging a pillow at him. "You
stay out of this; it's your fault I'm in this mess." She ducked as Matrix
tossed the pillow back at her.

"Dot,
do you realize how close you came to *kissing* him?" AndrAIa pointed out.

"Forget
nearly kissing him; there was a full-body manuever goin' on there. That's not
how you 'play around' with guy friends." Mouse said. When confronted with
five raised eyebrows, she continued. "Ah said that's not how you
play around with guy friends. No fair stealin' my M. O."

Dot
threw the pillow at Mouse. "I was just playing around. That's my story and
I'm sticking to it."

"Your
best friend almost kissed you in front of a huge crowd, and you didn't exactly
look opposed to the idea. So, I repeat -- what's your excuse?"

"I...um...I
was just...AndrAIa, Truth or Dare?"

Now
it was AndrAIa's turn to throw the pillow. "You pansy," she teased.
"Truth."

"Hmm...
is there a story behind that?" he asked, pointing to her navel ring.
"I mean, did you just decide to do it, or was there a reason?"

AndrAIa
laughed. "Oh, there's a reason. Remember, Sparky?"

"Yup.
I almost won, too."

“Hey,
it’s like I keep telling you: it’s all in the timing.” AndrAIa turned back to
the others. “Here’s how it happened: we were...1-7. We’d just finished this
snowboarding game...”

***

“GAME
OVER.” The cube rocketed into the sky, leaving two teenaged Sprites and one
large dog in its place.

AndrAIa
watched the game leave. “Well, that was a lot harder than it should have been.”

Matrix
surveyed the new system. They had landed in the downtown sector, and everything
looked to be running smoothly. He nodded slightly. Good. A well-ordered system
meant they wouldn’t have to be the heroes for once. He turned to AndrAIa. “At
least we won.”

“We?”
she retorted. “I was the one racking up all the points. You can’t just rely on
basic manuevers in a game like that; you have to impress the judges or you
won’t get a high score.”

“Excuse
me if I didn’t feel like taking a stupid risk.” He wasn’t really angry, but his
lackluster game performance was getting to him.

“Since
when do stupid risks bother you?” AndrAIa asked with a smile. They began
walking down the street, looking for a way to kill time until the next game.
“You know, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were afraid to try any tricks,”
AndrAIa said teasingly. Matrix didn’t answer; she gave him a glance, and found
him looking at the ground. The young woman stopped walking and put a hand on
his arm. “Enzo...” she began, a playful smile slowly appearing on her face,
“Were you scared?”

“Don’t
be ridiculous,” Matrix answered gruffly. “I just...I’m...I’m not built for
games like that. I don’t have your agility.”

Matrix
just narrowed his eyes at her. AndrAIa giggled. “Let me guess; not that kind of
physical.”

“Right,”
he said dryly.

The
Game Sprite grinned and shook her head. “You can narrow it down however you
want, but it doesn’t make you braver than me.”

“Want
me to prove it?”

AndrAIa
thought about this for a nano. “Yeah,” she replied. “I do. We’re gonna settle
this. We’ll go until the next game cube drops, and we’ll see who can pull off
the best ’physical act of bravery’.” She raised an eyebrow. “Deal?”

Matrix
nodded slowly. “Deal.”

They
shook on it, then AndrAIa slapped him on the shoulder. “Tag; you’re it!”

He
gave her a smirk, then headed off to find a way to prove himself.

“Don’t
forget to bring back the dragon’s head as proof!” AndrAIa called after him.

“About
half a millisecond later,” AndrAIa continued, “I’m sitting at a sidewalk cafe,
having a soda, when he comes back.”

“Acting
all proud of himself, right?” Ray said with a grin.

AndrAIa
shot a look at Matrix, who looked a bit sheepish. “The exact opposite,
actually,” the girl replied. “Before he even sits down, he’s making excuses
about how there ‘aren’t any ways to be brave in this system‘.”

“So
you didn’t do anything?” Mouse asked Matrix, a little surprised that he, of all
people, couldn’t find a way to be macho.

“Oh,
he did something,” AndrAIa laughed. “I wouldn’t consider it very brave,
though...”

***

“An...earring?!
That’s it?”

“Hey,
I said there wasn’t much to do.”

“Yeah,
but...” AndrAIa was trying unsuccessfully to hold back laughter. “An earring?
I’ve had my ears pierced since I was initialized! Did you even feel it?”

“It
pinched a little,” Matrix said sulkily, knowing full well that this little deed
wasn’t going to hold up.

There
was silence between them for a few micros. Then AndrAIa sighed. “It...it looks
good,” she said by way of apology. Matrix didn’t say anything, but he did meet
her gaze. Encouraged, she continued. “It’s pretty sexy, actually.”

“Where’d you get it done?”

He
pointed back the way he had come. “There’s a place a few blocks over.”

AndrAIa
stood up and tossed a few units onto the table to cover her bill. “Show me.”

“Why?”
Matrix asked a bit warily.

A
mischievous grin was AndrAIa’s response. “Well, it is my turn, isn’t it?”

“But
you already have earrings.”

“Who
said I was piercing my ears?”

***

“So
you punched an extra hole in your body just to show up your boyfriend,” Dot
summed up with a smile.

“Well,
I’d been wanting one. Showing up Enzo was just an added bonus.”

“Did
it hurt?” Mouse asked.

“It
stung like hell, but it was over pretty fast.”

Ray
shook his head. “Beaten by a piece of jewelry. Shame on you, Matrix.”

“Hey,
I wasn’t beaten yet,” Matrix retorted.

Rolling
her eyes, AndrAIa continued her story. “He did have the upper hand with his
next move, I’ll admit...”

***

“Enzo,
are you sure you want to do this? It‘s so...permanent,” AndrAIa glanced
nervously around the waiting room.

“Yes,
I’m sure. And call me Matrix.”

“You
don’t have to do this just to outdo me, you know.”

“I
know,” Matrix said shortly.

AndrAIa
could tell he was nervous; she decided to get him thinking about the end result
rather than the process. “What are you going to get?”

“An
icon,” he said, gesturing to his left shoulder. “Like Dot’s, sort of.”

AndrAIa
nodded. “Cool. What do you mean, ’sort of’?”

“You’ll
see.”

A
greasy-looking binome stepped out from behind the curtain separating the
waiting room from the main area. “Matrix?” he called out gruffly.

Matrix
exhaled loudly, trying to look nonchalant, and stood. He gave AndrAIa a pat on
the leg as he passed her and followed the binome behind the curtain.

Some
time later, Matrix reemerged, holding a cloth over his shoulder. AndrAIa hopped
up from her seat instantly and went to his side. “Well?”

“Well,
what?” he said a bit abruptly. <P.“WELL,

“Yeah, it’s fine.” Matrix made his way to the
counter to pay. He and AndrAIa never asked any payment for the help they gave
to systems that needed it, but they didn’t usually refuse it, either. They were
more than happy to help out systems in need, but they still had to eat.

“Can
I see it?” AndrAIa asked, a little confused by Matrix’s curtness.

“In
a nano - let me pay the guy.”

AndrAIa
raised her eyebrows, but decided not to push it. When they were outside, she
asked him again. “Now can I see it?”

Matrix
let out a sigh and took the cloth from his shoulder. The image underneath was
still bloody, but she could see the design of an icon flanked by two fins and
topped with a star. AndrAIa just stared at it for a moment; then she spoke.
“Enzo...” she began slowly, “why does it have fins?”

She
knew perfectly well why it had fins, of course; she was just taken aback by the
fact that Enzo would permanently scar himself for her. It was a little
disconcerting, truth be told - and at the same time, more than a little
flattering.

Matrix
had been looking at various things since removing the cloth from his arm:
passing cars, the sky, the ground - everything but AndrAIa. He still didn’t
look at her when he made his attempt to answer her question. “It’s... well,
it’s... you know.”

AndrAIa
buried a snicker and put a hand under his chin, turning his face to hers. “You
know,” she said with a smirk, holding his chin so he couldn’t turn away, “there
are easier ways to let a girl know you love her. But,” she added as his
expression turned uncomfortable again, “I still like this one. And I’m sure
it’ll look just fine once it stops oozing.”

Matrix,
finally relaxed, laughed at her last remark. “I’d like to see you beat this,”
he said arrogantly, putting an arm around her shoulders. “I’ll have you know it
hurt like hell.”

“You
mean you put yourself in pain for me?” she said melodramatically, batting her
eyes. Then she smacked him lightly in the chest. “I’m not impressed.”

“And
you’re also losing.”

“I
am going to win, Sparky.”

“I’m
waiting.”

“Don’t
rush me,” AndrAIa said coyly. “Be patient... things like this are all in the
timing.”

About
a millisecond later, the words that AndrAIa had been dreading and Matrix was on
pins and needles waiting for sounded through the system: “Warning, incoming
game. Warning, incoming game.”

Matrix
shot a look at AndrAIa; she was staring up at the game cube in disappointment.
He started to speak when she held up a hand. “Don’t say it,” she warned.
Unfortunately for her, he didn’t have to; his expression clearly pronounced his
triumph. She just rolled her eyes and headed in the game’s direction. “Come on,
or we’ll miss it.”

The
trio of game-hoppers took their place beneath the falling cube. A crowd of
Sprites and binomes stood just outside the perimeter, watching them prepare for
the game. Matrix laughed, unable to keep his arrogance in check any longer.
“And you were so sure of yourself,” he teased. “Couldn’t even beat a little
tattoo.”

“I
still say I’m braver than you, Sparky.”

The
larger Sprite glanced up at the game cube, then back to his companion. “Well,
you’ve still got about thirty nanoseconds.”

AndrAIa
was about to get on his case for patronizing her when she realized he was
exactly right. And that was all the time she needed. Her irritated scowl gave
way to a mischievous smirk. She turned to the crowd, waited until the cube was
just above her head, and calmly flashed the onlookers just before the game wall
closed.

AndrAIa
replaced her top and turned to find Matrix gaping at her in disbelief. “I win,”
she said simply.

Matrix
just stared at her; he would have been angry if he hadn’t been so surprised.
Finally, though, he just laughed and shook his head. “Forget it,” he said,
throwing up his hands in defeat. “I couldn’t beat a stunt like that anyway.”

“Told
you I was braver than you,” she said with a grin, slipping an arm around his
waist.

“Yeah,
yeah, you win,” he returned with a sigh. “Just... don’t do that anymore, ok?”

AndrAIa
giggled. “Deal. Now, what kind of User are we up against here?”

***

The
end of AndrAIa’s story was accompanied by laughs and looks of mild shock from
her fellow players. “You don’t screw around, do you, Dre?” Mouse said with
amusement.

“Nope.
Game Sprite programming - I play to win.”

“Whose
turn is it now?” Bob asked.

Dot
jumped in with the answer. “Truth or Dare, Mouse?”

“Dare.”

Dot
was ready for this. “I dare you to get your belly button pierced.”

“All
right,” Mouse answered calmly. When she was met with silence, she asked, “What,
ya mean right now?”

Dot
nodded. The hacker blinked, then said, “Uh... I don’t think anything’s open
anymore. It’ll have to wait.”

“Nah,
places like that are open all night,” Bob said.

Mouse
responded by giving him a look that said, very clearly,shut up.

AndrAIa
cut in: “Uh, that could take a while; why don’t we finish up the game first,
then go?” This, she figured, would give Mouse time to work up her nerve. After
everyone agreed, she leaned over to her friend and whispered, “What’s the
problem?”

“Ah
have this thing about needles,” Mouse whispered back, embarrassed.

Dot
rolled her eyes. She didn’t know what Mouse and AndrAIa had been whispering
about, but she had a feeling she was walking right into it. Oh well, she
thought, might as well get it over with. “Dare.”

“Well,
let’s see.” Bob counted off on his fingers. “Hex is under house arrest, no
one’s wearing underwear, and we now know that AndrAIa will do anything
to win an argument. Yeah, I’d say we’ve pretty much exhausted the
possibilities.”

Everyone
stood and prepared to leave. Bob gathered up the empty glasses and soda cans
lying around and carried them into the kitchen. Mouse, trying her hardest to
not think about the fact that she was about to pay someone to jab her with a
needle, sauntered over to where Dot was trying to explain to Hack and Slash,
via a vidwindow, that she needed one of them to come to Bob’s apartment to look
after Enzo.

“Listen
to me: Hack, you stay with Hex. Slash, you come here.”

“Yes
ma’am!”

“On
our way, boss!”

“No,
Hack; you stay there. I only need one of you.”

The
two robots pondered this for a moment... then resumed saying they were on their
way.

Dot
blinked in surprise. “Uh... thanks, Hex.” She closed the vidwindow. “That’s a
handy trick, I must say.”

“So
tell me, Dot: what is the password to your organizer, anyway?” Mouse
asked with a wry smile.

Dot
blushed slightly. “Guardian,” she answered after a brief pause.

“Awww...
Bob, did you hear that?” Mouse called into the kitchen.

“Hmm?
Yeah, I heard,” Bob said, returning to the living room. “But I already knew
that,” he continued, hugging Dot from behind.

Matrix
chuckled. “Do you know how long it’s been that way?”

“Well,
I assumed it’s been that way since we got together,” Bob said, releasing Dot
and giving her a questioning look.

“Nope,”
said Matrix.

All
eyes were on Dot; she sighed heavily, making a mental note to never play Truth
or Dare with these bloodsuckers again. “I changed the password to ‘guardian’
about 2 or 3 minutes... after I met you,” she finished in a decidedly softer
tone.

Mouse
spoke first. “Ok - no more claiming you didn’t have a crush on him from the
beginning anymore.”

There
were general sounds of agreement from the others. Dot looked like she was going
to protest, but, knowing she couldn’t win, kept her mouth shut. Bob just gave
her a half-smile and squeezed her hand.

“It’s
ok, sugah. I mean, who hasn’t had a crush on Bob at some point or another?”

Matrix,
Ray, and Slash instantly raised their hands. Mouse was about ready to make
another snide comment, but it died on her lips when she - and everyone else -
noticed that every female had kept her hand down. Including AndrAIa.

Confronted
with her friends’ stares of disbelief, the Game Sprite made an effort to
explain herself. “It was when I was a kid, ok?” she began, speaking more to
Matrix than to anyone else. When his expression of shock didn’t change, she
went on. “It was completely innocent; I was a kid, he was nice to me - I
thought he was cute - and I had this little schoolgirl crush on him,” she said
hastily, not looking Matrix in the eyes until she finished. Unfortunately, he
was still staring at her when she did venture to look at him. “I don’t
anymore!” she added defensively. When he still didn’t lighten up, she said,
“Well at least I didn’t have a crush on someone who tried to delete me!”

Matrix’s
eyes widened; he looked around at the others, trying to think of a way to
justify her remark before the questions started, but it was too late.

“What?!”

“Who?”

“Oh,
Enzo, you didn’t.” Dot’s remark turned the inquisitive stares in her direction.

“He
did,” answered AndrAIa. With that, both women turned to Mouse.

After
looking to Matrix for verification and finding him staring intently at the
floor, it was pretty clear to the others who the object of Enzo’s affection had
been. Ray decided to milk it for all it was worth. “So... you have a thing for
Mouse, do ya?”

“HAD,
Surfer. Past tense. Very past.”

Bob
just shook his head. “Dear User...”

“I
don’t anymore!” Matrix blurted out. An elbow in the side from AndrAIa and
smirks from the rest of the group made him realize his mistake. “Ok, ok... I
forgive you,” he sighed. AndrAIa just grinned at him.

Mouse
was blushing almost imperceptibly, but she covered it with a wry smile. “It’s
good to be us, isn’t it sugah?” she mused to Bob. The Guardian gave a flustered
grin and nodded.

A
point from the conversation finally caught up to Ray. “Wait... you tried to
delete him?”

“Well,
not on purpose.”

***

Bob
exited the bathroom, the hardwood floor chilly on his bare feet. He had
graciously taken a shower last, which meant he’d had no hot water. Such were
the curses of being a good host, he thought to himself. He peeked in on Enzo as
he passed the bedroom; despite being in a full-size bed, the boy was curled up
in a ball near the edge, sound asleep. Bob chuckled to himself and carefully
pulled the door shut, then continued on to the living room.

The
Sprites were all fast asleep when Bob entered the room. “Didn’t think I’d been
in the shower that long,” he muttered. Since Bob’s wardrobe had little
to offer in the way of extra pajamas - he mostly slept in old Guardian Academy
T-shirts - the others had opted to sleep in their regular clothes. Matrix and
AndrAIa occupied the sofa; they were lying on their backs, her head resting on
his chest. Bob was struck by how alike the two Enzos looked when they were
sleeping; something in their expressions gave them a similar innocence. There
were times, the Guardian mused, when you got glimpses like this, hints that
there was still some of the little kid in Matrix somewhere. This must why
AndrAIa stuck with him through all the rough times; she had seen the Enzo in
Matrix - where no one else could.

Mouse
and Ray were curled up on the floor atop a haphazard pile of throw pillows and
spare blankets. The fact that the two of them had remained a couple for all
this time was something of a shock to their friends, given the natural
wanderlust they both had. Both Mouse and Ray attempted to keep things casual,
but it was evident that they really cared about each other. Bob would have dwelled
on these thoughts a bit longer, but he was distracted by the one Sprite who had
yet to fall asleep: Dot.

She
was curled up on the loveseat, obviously waiting for him. The soft glow of the
lamp gave her eyes a faint sparkle. Dot, unlike the others, had taken him up on
his offer of something more comfortable to sleep in, saying her body armor was
impossible to get a good night's rest in and all she had stored on her icon
were a few business suits and some spare underwear. She was now wearing one of
his old Guardian Academy T-shirts; it fell to mid-thigh, with her bare legs
peeking out below the hem. Bob's first thought was that she looked incredibly
sexy. He wondered if he should be worried that she looked better in his clothes
than he did, but he quickly shoved the thought to the back of his mind.

She
smiled when their eyes met and held out her arms to him. Bob, returning the
smile, went over and knelt by her side. Dot wrapped her arms around his neck
and kissed him softly.

“Miss
me?” he asked when the kiss had ended.

“A
little,” she responded teasingly. She scooted over as much as she could so he
could join her on the loveseat. They lay silently in the dim light, her head on
his chest, his hand resting on the curve of her waist. Bob trailed his fingers
lightly along her stomach; he could feel the newly-added navel ring through the
cloth of her nightshirt.

“So
are you going to keep this or not?”

Dot
wrinkled her nose. “Nah. It’d be different if I had my midriff bared all the
time like AndrAIa, but with my outfits it would just be uncomfortable.” She
looked up at him and giggled at his slightly disappointed expression. “I know
you like it, angel, but it just isn’t practical.”

Bob
allowed himself a small laugh. “Well, at least you held out longer than Mouse.”

“True.”
The hacker had removed her navel ring almost immediately, saying the dare had
been to pierce her belly button, not leave it that way. “The Mouse. Squeamish
about needles. Who would’ve thought?”

“Not
me.”

“You
know, I think her squeezing my hand when the needle went in hurt me more than
actually getting the piercing,” Dot laughed quietly.

Bob
smiled. “I’m kinda proud of her, to tell the truth. I mean, she hates needles,
but she still went through with it.”

Dot
nodded. “Plus, she got her revenge on Mike, so it all evened out.” The TV had
made the mistake of falling asleep in the waiting room; Mouse had taken the
opportunity to get Mike a piercing of his own.

“Yeah,
he’s not going to be too happy when he wakes up,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t
think it was very sporting of her, though.”

“And
setting her up to get taken out of the Gotcha game was?” she shot back,
smirking.

Bob
feigned reproach. “Just whose side are you on, anyway?”

Dot
responded by giving him a quick kiss, her eyes glinting mischievously. “I
outrank you; I don’t have to answer that.”

“I
have ways of making you talk,” he said, starting to tickle her. Dot let out a
squeal before grabbing his hand and holding it away from her.

“You’ll
wake everybody up!” she hissed, suppressing a laugh. When she was sure he
wasn’t going to try anything, she released his hand; Bob immediately returned
to resting it on her waist. “Actually,” Dot continued, “Mouse did you a favor.
I doubt Mike will feel much like talking with a freshly-pierced tongue.”

Bob
made a face. “Tell me about it; I didn’t know a tongue stud would swell up like
that.”

“I
didn’t even know he had a tongue.”

Bob
chuckled. For a while they just laid in each other’s arms, content with the
silence. Then Dot whispered, “Truth or Dare?”

Bob
smiled wryly. “Funny.”

“No,
I’m serious. Truth or Dare?”

Bob
gave her a strange look, but decided to take the bait. “Truth.”

“Did
you have a crush on me? You know...before?”

Bob
smiled. “Oh, yeah.” <P.“WHY

Bob shrugged. “Too dumb
to realize my own feelings, I guess. For a long time it was just a mini-crush.
No offense,” he added quickly.

“Yeah,
I am,” he answered, gently rubbing her arm. Dot knew he was telling the truth,
but she could hear the wistful note in his voice. She sighed; they’d been
together for some time, but had been taking the physical part of their
relationship slowly. Lately, though, they’d both been hinting, sometimes quite
clearly, at wanting to take things further; Dot, for her part, saw no reason to
wait much longer.

She
put a hand under his chin and looked directly into his eyes. “However, I’m,
uh...I’m free tomorrow night,” she said softly.

Bob
raised his eyebrows, surprised; then his face broke into a grin. “Until
tomorrow, then,” he said, then kissed her deeply. “Goodnight.”